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CA-3102262-C - PROCESS FOR MOLDING COVER MATERIALS FOR SEATING APPLICATIONS

CA3102262CCA 3102262 CCA3102262 CCA 3102262CCA-3102262-C

Abstract

A seat trim cover for an automotive seat is formed into a 3-dimensional shape by compression molding a laminated moldable foam in a 3-dimensional. The laminated moldable foam comprises at least a layer of cellular polyurethane foam compression moldable in a temperature range of about 220°F to about 260°F. The 3-dimensional mold is heated to a temperature range of about 150°F to about 320°F. The layer of cellular foam is adhered to a cover material layer and precut into a pre-laminated blank prior to molding into the 3-dimensional shape. Optionally, seat heaters or other components can be integrated with the laminated foam prior to compression molding the seat trim cover.

Inventors

  • Eric Kozlowski
  • Craig Prasatek
  • Andrew M. Vivian

Assignees

  • MAGNA SEATING INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20190603
Priority Date
20180601

Claims (20)

  1. 32 What is claimed is: 1. A seat trim cover for a vehicle seat, comprising: a moldable polyurethane cellular foam interlayer having an upper surface; a cover material having a lower surface, said lower surface adhered to said upper surface of said moldable polyurethane cellular foam interlayer to form a laminate blank; and said cover material comprising one or more of a vinyl, fabric, and leather; wherein said laminate blank is compression molded in a 3-dimensional mold at 150 psi to 250 psi compressive force while at least a portion of said laminate blank is heated to a temperature of 220°F to 260°F to compression mold said foam interlayer into a 3-dimensional shape.
  2. 2. The seat trim cover as set forth in claim 1, further including: a scrim backing adhered to a lower surface of said moldable foam interlayer wherein said scrim backing is one of a woven or a non-woven fabric; and wherein one or more of said cover material and said scrim backing is adhered to said foam interlayer using a one part urethane adhesive, a two part urethane adhesive, or flame lamination.
  3. 3. The seat trim cover as set forth in claim 1, further including: a seat heater adhered between said lower surface of said cover material and said upper surface of said moldable foam interlayer.
  4. 4. The seat trim cover as set forth in claim 3, further including: a foam liner adhered between said lower surface of said cover material and said seat heater.
  5. 5. The seat trim cover as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said trim cover has one or more of a molded feature having an appearance of a sewn seam, a portion molded into a curved profile, and an embossed feature molded into said trim cover.
  6. 6. A trim cover for a vehicle component, comprising: a laminated assembly having at least a cover material adhered to a moldable polyurethane cellular foam interlayer to form said laminated assembly; and said moldable polyurethane cellular foam compression moldable to form a 3-dimensional shape with a compressive force in a range of 150 psi to 250 psi and a molding temperature in a range of 220°F to 260°F; 33 wherein said laminated assembly is cut into a laminate blank; and wherein said laminate blank is compression molded in a 3-dimensional molding tool under a compressive force in a range of 150 psi to 250 psi and a molding tool temperature in a range of 150°F to 320°F to form a molded trim cover.
  7. 7. The trim cover as set forth in claim 6, wherein: said trim cover is one of a seat cushion trim cover, a seat back trim cover, a seat back panel, a seat back pocket, a head restraint cover, an armrest cover, or a seat belt pocket; or wherein said cover material comprises one or more of a vinyl, fabric, and leather; or wherein said laminate blank is at least partially vacuum formed to a lower 3-dimensional molding tool or upper 3-dimensional molding tool before or during said compression molding of said laminate blank into said trim cover; or wherein one or more of a seat heater, a sensor, an electrical circuit, a fastener, a scrim backing layer, and a foam lining is assembled and adhered as part of said laminate blank prior to compression molding said laminate blank into said trim cover.
  8. 8. The trim cover as set forth in claim 6, wherein: said cover material comprises at least two pieces sewn along at least one edge of each of said at least two pieces to form a sewn cover material having at least one sew seam.
  9. 9. The trim cover as set forth in claim 8, wherein: said laminated assembly comprises at least said sewn cover material; and said edges of said at least one sew seam are encased within said trim cover during said compression molding of said laminate blank into said trim cover.
  10. 10. The trim cover as set forth in claim 8, wherein: a pocket is assembled with said cover material prior to or after said cover material is assembled as part of said laminated assembly; and wherein said pocket comprises at least one pocket edge and said at least one pocket edge is sewn within said at least one sew seam between said at least two pieces of cover material; or wherein said pocket extends from one edge of said cover material to an opposing edge of said cover material and at least one edge of said pocket is sewn to or adhered to said cover material prior to molding said trim cover from said laminate blank. 34
  11. 11. A method of forming a 3-dimensional trim cover, said method comprising: adhering a cover material to a moldable foam interlayer to form a laminate blank, said moldable foam interlayer compression moldable with a compressive force in a range of 150 psi to 250 psi and a molding temperature in a range of 220°F to 260°F, said cover material comprising one or more of a vinyl, fabric, and leather; placing said laminate blank between a lower 3-dimensional molding tool and an upper 3- dimensional molding tool; lowering said upper 3-dimensional molding tool towards said lower 3-dimensional molding tool and applying compressive pressure in a range of 150 psi to 250 psi on said laminate blank; heating at least a portion of one or more of said molding tools to a temperature of 150°F to 320°F for 90 seconds to 10 minutes to form said 3-dimensional trim cover from said laminate blank; removing said upper 3-dimensional molding tool from said formed 3-dimensional trim cover; and removing said formed 3-dimensional trim cover from said lower 3-dimensional molding tool.
  12. 12. The method as set forth in claim 11, said method comprising one or more of: adhering said cover material to said moldable foam interlayer with one of a one part urethane adhesive, a two part urethane adhesive, or flame lamination, adhering a woven or nonwoven fabric scrim backing to a lower side of said foam interlayer, adhering at least one fastener to said laminate blank or to said 3-dimensional trim cover, assembling at least one loop fastener of a hook and loop fastening system to a lower side of said scrim backing or said laminate blank, adhesively bonding or insert molding said at least one loop fastener to said lower side of said scrim backing or said laminate blank during said heating step, and adhering a seat heater between said cover material and said foam interlayer.
  13. 13. The method as set forth in claim 12, said method comprising: adhering a foam lining to a lower surface of said cover material prior to adhering said seat heater between said cover material and said foam interlayer.
  14. 14. The method as set forth in claim 11, said method comprising: cutting a first piece of a first cover material; cutting a second piece of a second cover material; and sewing said first piece to said second piece to form a sewn cover material having at least one sew seam prior to adhering said cover material to said foam interlayer; wherein said first cover material and said second cover material are the same material or dissimilar material.
  15. 15. The method as set forth in claim 14, said method comprising: encasing said at least one sew seam in said trim cover during compression molding of said laminate blank into said 3-dimensional trim cover.
  16. 16. A padded assembly, comprising: a molded trim cover releasably coupled with a base foam pad; said molded trim cover comprising: a lower surface of a cover material adhered to an upper surface of a moldable polyurethane cellular foam interlayer to form a laminate blank; and said cover material comprising one or more of a vinyl, fabric, and leather; wherein said laminate blank is compression molded in a 3-dimensional mold at 150 psi to 250 psi compressive force while at least a portion of said laminate blank is heated to a temperature of 220°F to 260°F to compression mold said foam interlayer into a 3-dimensional shape; and wherein said base foam pad comprises a cellular polyurethane foam.
  17. 17. The padded assembly as set forth in claim 16, wherein: said molded trim cover having at least one loop fastener of a hook and loop fastener system; and said base foam pad having at least one hook fastener of said hook and loop fastener system; wherein said at least one loop fastener is releasably coupled with said at least one hook fastener.
  18. 18. The padded assembly as set forth in claim 17, wherein: 36 said at least one loop fastener comprises one or more of a non-woven scrim backing layer adhered to said moldable polyurethane cellular foam interlayer, said at least one loop fastener adhered to a lower surface of said laminate blank or said at least one loop fastener adhered to a lower surface of said molded trim cover.
  19. 19. The padded assembly as set forth in claim 16, wherein: said padded assembly is one of a seat cushion, a seat back, a seat head restraint, or a seat armrest of a vehicle seat assembly.
  20. 20. The padded assembly as set forth in claim 16, wherein: one or more of a seat heater, a sensor, an electrical circuit, a scrim backing layer, a fastener, and a foam lining is assembled and adhered as part of said laminate blank prior to compression molding said laminate blank into said trim cover.

Description

PROCESS FOR MOLDING COVER MATERIALS FOR SEATING APPLICATIONS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to United States Provisional Application No. 62/679,053, filed on June 1, 2018 and to United States Provisional Application No. 62/845,928, filed on May 10, 2019. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a process for molding cover materials and the cover materials formed using this molding process. More particularly, the invention relates to a process for forming 3-dimensional cover materials and automotive seat trim covers formed by this molding process. 2. Description of Related Art [0003] Automotive vehicles typically include one or more seat assemblies having a seat cushion and a seat back for supporting a passenger above a vehicle floor. Generally, each of the seat cushion and seat back comprise a foam pad supported by a frame. A cover is assembled with the foam pad to provide a finished surface. Each of the seat cushion and seat back generally have one or more contoured surfaces and generally require a contoured cover. The contoured cover generally comprises a seating surface portion (referred to hereafter as a trim cover panel or trim cover) fastened and/or sewn to one or more side pieces. [0004] Various processes for forming 3-dimensional automotive seat trim covers are known in the art. One commonly known method for forming a contoured trim cover is to cut pieces of a cover material into desired shapes and sew the pieces together along edges to form the contoured trim cover. This cut-and-sew process can be relatively expensive, time consuming, and difficult depending on the desired degree of contour in the trim cover. Additional material pieces are needed as the desired amount of contour increases. Further, additional seams and sew lines may 1 WO 2019/232538 PCT/0S2019/035244 be needed in the trim cover to obtain a desired style appearance. There is a practical limit to the amount of detail and the amount of contour that can be created with a cut-and-sew trim cover. [0005] Other known methods for forming a contoured trim cover include a variety of molding processes. Molded seating surfaces are desirable for automotive applications because molded seating surfaces have reduced material and labor costs when compared to traditional cut-and-sew trim covers. Further, additional styling and deeper contours can be achieved with molding processes which would be difficult to obtain with cut-and-sew constructions. Finally, molded seating surfaces generally have improved craftmanship and improved cleanability over cut-andsew construction because the molded seating surface has fewer sew seams. [0006] One known method of molding a trim cover, commonly described as Uni-Trim™, is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,722,760. The Uni-Trim™ method generally comprises the step of forming a number of spaced apart recessed grooves on the surf ace of a foam pad, placing a cover material on a lower mold having projections corresponding to the respective recessed grooves in the surface of the foam pad, molding the cover material to have the contour of the lower mold, applying adhesive to the formed cover material, applying the grooved foam pad to the formed cover material, and bonding the formed cover material to the foam pad. This known process may produce more manufacturing scrap than traditional cut-and-sew methods since misbonded covers cannot be reclaimed or reused. In addition, this process may require cover materials with high fiber elongation, which increases the cost of the cover materials while also limiting the selection of suitable materials. Further, warranty costs are higher than other manufacturing methods since the cover material cannot be removed from the foam pad, and thus the entire cover and pad assembly must be replaced when damaged. [0007] Another known method for assembling a trim cover, referred to as SureBond™, is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,692,199. The SureBond™ method generally comprises applying a thermoplastic adhesive film and a cover material to a formed cellular foam pad and applying superheated steam to diffuse the adhesive layer and permanently bond the cover material to the foam pad. The cover material can be reclaimed when defects occur during the bonding process. However, the cellular foam pad is typically not reclaimed. Using steam to diffuse the adhesive may result in cover material distortion and alter the shape of the cellular foam pad. Superheated 2 WO 2019/232538 PCT/0S2019/035244 steam can distort the nap in a fabric cover material during the bonding process. When the cover material and the cellular foam pad are not fully bonded, unbonded adhesive film can give off annoying crinkle "sounds" in a finished automotive seat. Warranty costs of SureBond™ covers are elevated over other known methods since the entire trim cover and foam pad must be replaced if there are any issues with either the